Stellantis South Africa has issued an urgent airbag recall for Citroen C3 and DS3 models that were manufactured between 2009 and 2019.
The carmaker said customers should stop driving these vehicles immediately and contact their nearest dealership as soon as possible to schedule a free replacement of their Takata airbags.
Stellantis said the airbag replacement process would take less than two hours to be performed.
This is the latest development in the Takata airbag saga that has seen more than 100 million vehicles recalled globally, across multiple brands. Takata airbag inflators are known to have caused at least 28 deaths in the US, mostly from Honda-made vehicles.
“Chemical components of Takata airbags can deteriorate over time, especially when exposed to hot and humid climatic conditions. In the event of a collision requiring the airbag to deploy, the airbag inflator may rupture with excessive force, potentially causing serious injury or even death,” Stellantis South Africa said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“The replacement will return these Citroën C3 and DS3 models to original safety design specification.”
The carmaker said the safety of its customers was a top priority and that Citroen remained committed to actively contacting owners of these C3 and DS3 models.
For more information customers can call 0860 738 472 and press 2, or they can log on to Citroen’s recall website to check whether their VIN number correlates with the recall.
IOL